Move over Batman and Robin, there's a new dynamic duo in town, and they are out to clean up the town's neighborhoods and streets one nuisance building and nefarious absentee landlord at a time.

For the past two years, Webster's Health Agent Cathleen M. Liberty and Building Inspector Theodore G. Tetreault III have rigorously gone beyond the call of duty when it comes to health code and building inspections, but now they are taking code enforcement to the next level.

Ms. Liberty and Mr. Tetreault have a new, marked “Code Enforcement Vehicle” (unofficially dubbed “The White Knight”) and matching “Code Enforcement” uniforms, all in an effort to restore “an old mill town with more than a bucketful of problems” to its original glory.

“We focus on properties that police are at all the time. They are unsafe, structurally unsound, unsanitary. Our goal is that either he (Mr. Tetreault) removes the property or I condemn it. We remove the undesirables,” Ms. Liberty said. “We have been in homes that have been so dilapidated. We have been in homes that have been so unsanitary. People out there, defecating in buckets and sleeping on a mattress on the floor.

“If you're looking at a town that looks like it gave up and in disarray, it doesn't give anybody incentive to clean anything up,” Mr. Tetreault said. “So if we can get the ball rolling and start cleaning things up, maybe the neighbors of the property we clean up will start cleaning up their act and it will spread. It took years for Webster to get in the position it's in. It's not going to happen overnight to bring it (back). We're going to put a hell of a dent in it while we're here.”

Town Administrator John F. McAuliffe said the town created an opportunity to bring two full-time code enforcement people on board. Within three months of each other, Ms. Liberty and Mr. Tetreault were hired.

“When Ted and I first met, we started talking the code,” Ms. Liberty recalled. “We understood that John hired us for a mission. We enforce the code. We are the Code Enforcement, and now we have The White Knight.”

In two years, Code Enforcement has deemed 41 sites nuisance properties, 23 of which have been demolished and an additional five that are being considered for demolition.

Friday, the Code Enforcement team got its new wheels, a former police cruiser complete with yellow warning lights, a crash bar on the front grill and a fresh coat of white paint and green lettering with the words, “Webster Code Enforcement.”

“Our Code Enforcement is going to roll onto a scene as they have done every day, but instead of people questioning who are they and what are they up to, there is going to be a strong statement that this is a branch of our public safety department,” Mr. McAuliffe said. “If you're a landlord and you're playing games, you're in the wrong town.”

Webster received national attention when officials decided to take a more public approach to the problem of urban blight.

On Feb. 28, 2011, the health board approved the “walls of shame,” an innovative effort to push the owners of nuisance properties into the limelight.

Once the board deems a property a nuisance or condemns a building, it may, at its discretion, also post signs on the exterior identifying the building's owner. The 4-by-8-foot signs can spell out the status of the property, the name of the owner, address and contact information.

For those deemed a nuisance, an “order to correct” letter is sent to the owner. If the owner doesn't deal with the problem in a timely fashion, the “wall of shame” sign is put up.

“In most cases, we found the letter itself was enough to make them start with the repairs,” Ms. Liberty said.

It's not just privately owned nuisance properties that are being targeted by Code Enforcement, but also town-owned property.

“If you're a landlord that's not keeping your property in good shape or a homeowner that's allowing things to fall to disrepair, your number will get picked. We will get to you,” Mr. McAuliffe said. “We're starting with the tougher ones, those really difficult, older, abandoned or nuisance housing stock first.”

Although it's the health agent and building inspector leading the nuisance property crusade, both are quick to point out that it's a joint venture that includes the Fire Department, Police Department, assessor, town administrator, highway department, selectmen and animal control.

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